Feeding and treating system for fluids



Oct. 27, 1936. L. D. JONES FEEDING AND TREATING SYSTEM FOR FLUIDS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 4, 1932 INVENTOR 2120 D. JONES BY .fl.

ATTORNEY Oct. 27, 1936. D. JONES FEEDING AND TREATING SYSTEM FOR FLUIDS Filed April 4, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 I. l +L\ 8- F fwmwe g Al 3.0% E a WLiL- Q T? F JL .FNWL q Q m? m. a Q a? N g Q 3 8 INV'EN'UI'OR ONES BY Can/a l ATTORNEY Oct. 27, 1936.

| D. JONES 2,058,839

FEEbING AND TREATING SYSTEM FOR FLUIDS Filed April 4, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Oct. 27, 1936. L. D. JONES 2,058,889

FEEDING AND TREATING SYSTEM FOR FLUIDS Filed April 4, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR D. J ONES BY -d @wu ATTORNEY adjustment of the apparatus.

Patented Oct. 27; 1936 no l Jone s, Philadelphia, 1a., assignor to The Sharples Specialty Company, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Philadelphia,

Application April 4, 1932, Serial No. 603,152 1 6 Claims. (Cl.137164 or physical change in one or both of them and 10 thereafter passing the mixed products to a battery of machines arranged in parallel and adapted to perform a further operation upon the mixture; e. g., the separation of the mixture into its constituents.

l6 Devices for proportioning the flow of liquids propelled by constant pressure feed devices in separate conduits have heretofore been proposed, but such devices have involved rotatable vanes. The movement of such vanes is not strictly pro- 20 portional to the flow of liquid in the conduit in which the vane rotates, asit is subject to errors due to varying reaction between the liquid and the vane surface and varying resistance to the rotation of the vanes and varying amounts of work to be done by the rotation of the vanes. Varying reactions aredependent upon the viscosity of the liquid, which varies with temperature, degree of purity and other characteristics thereof-,- and cannot therefore be corrected by an In contra-distinction to such devices my apparatus eflfects a control of the flow of the liquids in the two systems in exactly volumetrically proportioned amounts,

35 In the illustrated embodiment I have disclosed the feeding of a liquid to be purified and a treating liquid to a mixing chamber adapted to effect a vigorous agitation and intimate contact for the purpose of effecting a chemical reaction be- 40 tween the constituents and the subsequent separation of the purified product from the resulting sludge in a battery of centrifugal separators.

Such a treating system finds use in many connections. Two very important examples of such use are the acid treatment of petroleum oils and the alkali treatment of vegetable oils in the ree fining thereof.

In order to obtain themaximum efliciency in such a system it is desirabie to have a battery of 50 centrifugal separators arranged in parallel on the discharge end of the treating system. Where such an arrangement prevails it is frequently necessary to cut off the feed to one of the separators without disturbing the operation of the 55 system as a whole. A particular feature my system is adaptability for such operation without interfering with the proper proportioning of the liquids or forcing them through the system at a rate in excess of the ability of the centrifuges to effectively perform their separating function.

My objects have therefore been to effect a separate feed of the various constituents to a mixing chamber in exactly volumetrically proportioned amounts by an arrangement capable of efiectinga restricted flow of the liquids automatically as a result of the increase in resistance to flow at: the discharge end of the system without in any way impairing the functioning of the proportioning apparatus.

Further objects and advantages of my invention and the manner in which I have attained them will be apparent from a reading of the subjoined specification in the light of the attached drawings, in which Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view, partly in side elevation and partly in plan, illustrating the arrangement of my system,

Figure 2 is a view of my apparatuspartly in side elevation and partly in section, 5

Figure 3 is a view in side elevation and partly in section of a measuring cylinder suitable for use in the apparatus of Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of- Figure 3,

Figure 5 is a sectional view on the line 5-5 of Figure 3, Figure 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Figure 3,

Figure 7 is a horizontal sectional view of a mechanism suitable for use in the apparatus shown in Figures 1 and 2 and containing parts that are positively displaced in proportion to the volume of liquid passed therethrough,

Figure 8 is a sectional view on the line 8-8 of Figure '7 and Figure 9 shows diagrammatically a modification of the proportioning elements of the apparatus shown in Figure 1.

As above set forth, my system may be employed in the treatment of various types of substances. I anticipate that it will find one of its principal uses in the acid treating of petroleum oils and I shall therefore describe its construction and operation with reference to such treatment. This method of presentation is chosen solely for the purpose of clarity of description, and I do not have any intention of limiting the scope of my patent protection to this particular application of my invention as it has many other potential uses.

My system involves in general, separate sources of supply from which the oil and acidare fed to a mixing chamber. Both oil and acid are preferably fed by constant pressure impelling apparatus and the oil is passed through a displacement meter before it reaches the mixing chamber. This meter is provided with moving parts which are displaced in exact proportion to the amount of oil which flows therethrough and it in turn controls a valve which controls the movement of a piston in a measuring cylinder in the acid feed line to effect a reciprocation of the piston and a consequent feed of a predetermined volume of liquid in the acid line every time a predetermined volume has passed through the oil meter. The oil and acid are thus fed to a mixing chamber in exactly correct proportions, which proportions have been previously accurately predetermined. After the acid treatment of the oil in the mixing chamber, the mixed oil and acid sludge are fed to a battery of centrifuges which effect the separation of the acid-treated oil from the sludge formed in the acid treating operation.

Referring to the drawings by reference characters, oil to be purified is fed to the conduit ill by a. device capable of supplying it at constant pressure, such for example as a centrifugal pump Ii. Oil supplied through conduit i0 is passed to conduit HI through a metering device l2 which contains a movable part or parts which are positively displaced to an extent and frequency whose product is directly proportional to the amount of oil flowing into the system. Thus, referring to Figures 7 and 8, there are a pair of cylinders i3 and I4 and a pair of cylinders 15 and I6. Within cylinders l3 and II there is a double-headed piston ll comprising a head l9 engaging the walls of the cylinder i3 and a head engaging the walls of the cylinder ll, these heads being interconnected by a connecting portion 2| of reduced diameter. A similar piston operates within the cylinders 15 and I5. An opening 22 is formed in the common wall 23 between the pairs of cylinders, thus forming a space 24 within the walls of the device l2 into which liquid is introduced by means of conduit III. In the arrangement of my apparatus, every particle of liquid which passes through the pipes Ill and I0 effects a proportionate displacement of the pistons within the cylinders. To this end, a suitable valve mechanism is employed to control flow of liquid from the space 24 between the cylinders to the cylinders l3, I4, I 5 and I6 and from those cylinders to the passage 25 which is formed in the body of the cylinder casing and from which liquid discharges into an opening in the hollow boss l2 to which the discharge pipe iii of the metering device is secured. Thus, in the construction illustrated in Figures '7 and 8, passages 26 and 21, respectively, lead to cylinders l3 and I4 from ports 28 and 29, respectively, and an intermediate port 30 communicates with discharge passage 25 leading through the wall of the cylinder casing to the interior of the boss I2 which communicates with the discharge pipe Ill. Similarly, passages 34 and 36 lead from ports and 31 to cylinders i5 and i6, respectively, and a similar arrangement of ports 35, 31 and 38 control the flow of liquid from the space 24 into the cylinders and from the cylinders into the passage 25 leading to the discharge pipe I 0'.

(Jo-operating with the ports 28, 29, 50 and 35, 31, 38 are identical valve devices. Each of these devices consists of a movable valve member having a concave lower face provided with a cavity 32 adapted to interconnect two of the ports. Thus the valve device 3! illustrated in Figure 8 of the drawings interconnects the ports 28 and 30 to permit discharge of liquid from the cylinder it during the scavenging thereof by the movement of the piston 20 to the right as illustrated in that figure and interconnects the ports 29 and 20 during the reverse movement of that piston to permit the scavenging of the cylinder ii. The valves are held in close engagement with the surfaces upon which they rest by the pressure of the liquid within the space 24 and this pressure may be increased by guiding the valves along spring strips 53 secured within the casing and each passing through a slot in its respective valve. These strips also restrain the valve against sidewise movement and thus not only insure a firm seating of the valve, but also serve the additional function of guiding it in its reciprocating movement. The pistons are undercut at their inner extremities to form shoulders which co-act with the valve devices to abut extensions thereon as illustrated in Figure 8. Each of the pistons thus actuates the valve controlling ingress and egress of liquid to and from the adjacent cylinder. Thus, the pistons i9 and 2' at the lower side of Figure '7 control the feed and discharge of liquid to and from the cylinders l3 and I4 and the pistons i 9 and 2|! at the top of that figure control the feed and discharge to and from the cylinders i5 and I6 respectively.

In the operation of the displacement device l2, liquid is supplied through pipe ill to chamber 24. Assuming that the parts are in the position shown in Figure 7, liquid will flow through the port 2| to the cylinder l3 and through the ports 29 and 30 from the opposed cylinder I I into the passage 25 leading to the exhaust port in the boss i2. At this stage the port 31 communicating with the cylinder i5 is also in communication with the space 24 allowing liquid to push the lower piston is to the left until this piston abuts a boss in the end of the cylinder I 5. The lower piston l9 will then remain in the extreme lefthand position until the upper piston 20 abuts the upper valve 3i controlling the flow of liquid into cylinder l5 to place that valve into communication with the ports 51 and 38 and place the port 35 into communication with the liquid within the space 2|. As soon as the upper valve 3| has been thrown in this manner, liquid will enter the cylinder l5 and force the lower piston I! to the right, the liquid within cylinder l6 being forced through the passage 56 and ports 31 and 28 covered by the upper valve 3| into the exhaust passage 25 and pipe Ill by this movement. Shortly after the upper piston is has eifected the movement of the upper valve described above, this piston reaches the end of its stroke and it is retained at the right-hand end of its stroke until the lower piston I 8 has come to a position in which it approaches the right-hand end of its stroke and thus throws the lower valve 31 into a position in which liquid is admitted into the cylinder l4 and allowed to be expelled from the cylinder i3 through the ports 28 and 30 covered by the lower valve 3| into the passage 25 from which the liquid leaves the metering device. It will thus be seen that each of the pistons l9 and 20 is alternately reciprocated and that every particle of oil which passes from the pipe in to the pipe l0 eifects a corresponding displacement of one or the other of the pistons within the cylinders. It will also be seen that by controlling the valves which feed one set of cylinders by the movement of the pistons in the companion set of cylinders, I have been enabled to-insure the completion of the stroke of the pistons within the cylinders in every case and have also avoided any tendency ofthevalves to stick in intermediate positions. It but a single set of pistons were used, such sticking of the valves might well occur. It will also be noted that such an arrangement would involve an admission of liquid to the cylinder before the piston working therein had quite completed its scavenging stroke and would result in an incomplete stroke of the piston and a resulting error in the metering oi the liquid;

In accordance with my invention, I control the amount of liquid, e. g. acid, fed in the pipes 40 and 45 by the movement of the pistons in the metering device. To this end I pass a packed valve rod 58 through an opening in the casing 23 intermediate the sets of cylinders and provide a projection 51 extending from this rod within the space-24 into the path of the pistons in one of the sets of cylinders. Thus, as illustrated, the arm 51 extending from the rod 55 is adapted to be alternately reciprocated in opposite directions by the pistons l9 and 20 as they approach the inner ends of their strokes. It will thus'be seen that the rod 56 is reciprocated in opposite directions once for each complete cycle of the metering device; i. e., it undergoes one reciprocation every time a quantity of 011 corresponding to the sum of the volumes of the cylinders l3, l4, l5 and I6 passes through the metering device. This valve stem 56 in turn controls the movement of a valve in an acid metering device which I shall now describe.

In Figures 3 to 6 there is shown in more or less detail an operative construction of measuring cylinder 4| and its associated'valve mechanism 44 adapted to be controlled byv the valve rod 56. Pipe 40 leads into valve chamber 46 which contains valve 41, which, as shown, is of the conventional D-valve type. being held upon its seat not only by pressure of the liquid but by the action of spring 48. Within the seat of valve 41 is port 49 with which communicates-outlet pipe 45, port 50 which communicates with one end of measuring cylinder 4| and port 5| which communicates with the other end of measuring cylinder 4|. It will be apparent that reciprocation of valve 41 along its seat places each end of the cylinder alternately into communication with valve chamber 46 and exhaust .port 49. Adjustable stop 43 is provided with suitable packing 50' compressed by nut 5| and the central portion of piston 42 carries an index line 52 in order that the stroke, and therefore the displacement volume, of measuring cylinder 4| may be indicated on scale 53. Also, piston 42 is provided with openings 54 for the accommodation of the tool whereby piston 42 may be rotated to free it in the event that it binds for any reason, such as corrosion.

In the practice of this invention valve" is moved in exact correspondence with the displacement of a movable member of displacement device l2, and the frequency of reciprocation of piston 42 of measuring cylinder 4| is exactly de- In the construction shown in Fig. 9 packed rod III is similar in construction and arrangement to rod 55 and the movement thereof is utilized to actuate one or more switches controlling the energization of electric motors which effect-reciprocation of valve 41. Thus, in Fig. 9 rod I55 is shown as provided with arms 59 and 50 between which is located switch arm 5| pivoted at 52. Reciprocation of rod I54 will alternately bring switch arm 5| into contact with switch points 55 and 54. Switch point 64 is connected to one binding post of bus-bar 55 and switch point 53 is connected to one binding post of bus-bar 55. One terminal of battery 51 is connected to switch arm 5| and the other terminal thereof is connected to one binding post of bus-bar 58. Bus-bars 55, 55,

and 58 may be provided with any suitable number of binding posts. Valve rod I55 extends out of both ends of valve casing 44 and cooperating with opposite ends of valve rod |55 are solenoids 59, each of which has one of its terminals connected to busvbar 58 and its other terminal to bus-bar 55 or 55. Thus, reciprocation of rod I55 will efl'ect alternate energization of solenoids 58 and reciprocation of piston 42 of measuring cylinder 4| will correspond exactly with the rerliizprocation of piston H of displacement device For the acid-treatment of oil in accordance with this invention, oil flowed through pipe i0 and acid supplied through pipe 40 and pipes and 45 are discharged into a. mixer 10 from which the resulting oil containing dispersed acid is conducted after a suitable period through pipe 1| to a battery of centrifugal separators 12 in which the sludge and residual acid are separated from the oil and discharged separately therefrom. In'the event that duplications of the mixing and agitating steps are desired, or in the event that it is desired to add water to the acid-oil mixture prior to separation of sludge therefrom, measuring cylinder 4| may be duplicated and the operation of all such measuring cylinders may be controlled by movement of a moveable part in displacement device l2. For example, measuring cylinders having solenoid operated valves may be duplicated and the circuits of the solenoids may be connected to binding posts of bus-bars 55, 55 and 58.

A very important feature of my invention consists in the arrangement by which the stroke of the piston 42 may be adjusted either before or during the operation of the system. Thus, in the treatment of petroleum the proportion of acid and oil necessary may be accurately predetermined from laboratory analysis or from a brief experimental run through the system and the screw 43 set to deliver the desired quantity of acid from the computation of the volumes of the cylinders within the metering device I 2 and the corresponding reading taken upon the scale 53. The relative volumes of the two liquids fed to the mixture may be thus adjusted by a setting of the screw 43, but once this screw is'set the volumes delivered will always bear exactly the same proportion to each other.

In the acid treating of 'oil the mixed sludge and treated oil is'delivered through the pipe 1| into a pipe 13 from which it is fed in parallel to a battery of centrifugal separators 12 each controlled by a valve 14. When, for any reason, it is desired to use less than the complete battery of centrifuges, one or more of these separators can be disabled by closing the valve 14 controlling the feed of liquid thereto. Such a closing of one or more of the valves will eiIect a. diminution of the flow of the oil through the pipes ll and III in almost direct proportion to the number of centrifuges so disabled. It will be noted that the disablement of one or more centrifuges in this manner and the resulting diminution of flow in the pipes Ill and III will effect an absolutely proportional volumetric diminution of flow in the acid feeding line. As the pistons within the casing l2 and II are all idler pistons and connected to no positive operating mechanism whatever, they are capable of responding instantly to variation in flow caused by increased or decreased resistance in the discharge end of the system produced in the manner described above or in analogous manners in different types of systems. In the consideration of this matter, it is important to remember that the feeding devices for both oil and acid are of a type in which a substantially constant pressure is maintained under all practical workingconditions. When this type of impeller, e. g., a centrifugal pump or a constant head of liquid, is used, the amount of liquid.

flowing in the system is inversely proportional to the resistance within the system, in accordance with well known laws of hydraulics, and I am accordingly enabled to control the volume of liquid flowing within the feed pipes by the resistance to flow imposed by the discharge end of the system. The principal resistance in this connection is in the feed nozzles of the centrifugal separators.

From the above description it will be obvious that I have attained every one of the objects of my invention. I have not only devised an arrangement in which the volume of flow into the mixer from the several feed pipes is accurately proportioned in desired amounts, but I have also effected an arrangement in which a restriction at the discharge end of the system effects a corresponding volumetric diminution of flow in both of these pipes. The resistance to flow may, therefore, be fixed at any desired amount without disturbing the desired proportion of the liquids, and this resistance may be changed at the discharge end without necessitating any rearrangement whatever in the feeding and proportioning mechanism.

In the above discussion, I have described two specific arrangements of apparatus in accordance with my invention. I wish it to be understood, however, that this description is to be taken in an illustrative rather than in a limiting sense, and I do not intend to be limited thereby except in accordance with the terms of my subjoined claims as interpreted in the light of the broad generic spirit of my invention.

What I claimas new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:-

l. A feeding system for liquids comprising separate conduits for a plurality of liquids, impelling means for feeding a liquid in one of said conduits, a metering device comprising a piston operative in a cylinder in the conduit fed by said impelling means and in which the piston has a movement proportionate to the passage of liquid through said conduit; a valve mounted for actuation by said piston and a cylinder connected with a source of supply of an auxiliary liquid constituting a part of a second conduit and a piston operative within said auxiliary liquid cylinder and effecting a proportionate flow of auxiliary liquid to the liquid fed in the first mentioned conduit,

said second cylinder, piston and valve being adapted to eflect feed of auxiliary liquid upon movement of the auxiliary liquid piston in both directions.

aocassa 2. A feeding system for fluids comprising a conduit for a fluid, a metering device in said conduit including a cylinder and a piston having a movement in said cylinder in direct proportion to the volumetric flow of fluid in said conduit, a second conduit associated with a source of supply of a second fluid, a cylinder forming a part 01' said second conduit, a piston mounted for reciprocation within said second cylinder, and valve means operated positively by the movement of the flrst mentioned piston and controlling the flow of fluid into and out of said second cylinder.

3. A feeding system for fluids comprising a conduit for a fluid, a metering device in said conduit including a cylinder and a piston having a movement in said cylinder in direct proportion to the volumetric flow of fluid in said conduit, a second conduit associated with a source of supply of a second fluid, a cylinder forming a part of said second conduit, a piston mounted for reciprocation within said second cylinder, and valve means including a D valve operated positively by the movement of the first mentioned piston and controlling the flow of fluid into and out of said second cylinder.

4. A feeding system for fluids comprising a conduit for a fluid, a metering device in said conduit including a cylinder and a piston having a movement in said cylinder in direct pro-' portion to the volumetric flow of fluid in said conduit, a second conduit associated with a source of supply of a second fluid, a cylinder- 5. A feeding system for fluids comprising a conduit for a fluid, a metering device in said conduit including a cylinder and a piston having a movement in said cylinder in direct proportion to the volumetric flow oi fluid in said. conduit, a second conduit associated with a source of supply of a second fluid, a cylinder forming a part of said second conduit, a piston mounted for reciprocation within said second cylinder, and unitary valve means positively operated by the movement of the first mentioned piston for alternately admitting fluid to opposite ends of the second cylinder and simultaneously allowing fluid to escape from the end of the cylinder opposite that at which fluid is being admitted.

6. A feeding system for fluids comprising a conduit for a fluid, a metering device in said conduit including a cylinder and a piston having a movement in said cylinder in direct proportion to the volumetric flow of fluid in said conduit, a second conduit associated with a source of supply of a second fluid, a cylinder forming a part of said second conduit, a piston mounted LEO D. JONES. 

